NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Grows Stake

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 127,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,817 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $9,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. NBH Bank boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. NBH Bank now owns 13,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.1% in the third quarter. Silver Grove Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,240 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 29.8% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 50,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,848,000 after purchasing an additional 11,662 shares during the period. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 11.3% in the third quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A. now owns 197,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,921,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Finally, Northbridge Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 18.0% in the third quarter. Northbridge Financial Group LLC now owns 7,974 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 1,215 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NEE. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Piper Sandler set a $88.00 price target on NextEra Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $110.00 price target on NextEra Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Scotiabank cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $110.00 to $99.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective (up from $55.00) on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.80.

NextEra Energy News Roundup

Here’s some of the latest news about NEE:

• Positive Sentiment: NextEra shareholders approved the Dominion transaction, clearing an important step toward a merger. The deal still faces further steps before completion. Article: NextEra Energy Shareholders Approve the Dominion Deal
• Positive Sentiment: The State Street Utilities SPDR (XLU) reportedly increased its NextEra holdings by $76 million, a sign of added institutional demand. Article: State Street Utilities SPDR Buys More NextEra
• Neutral Sentiment: Florida Power & Light, a NextEra subsidiary, doubled funding for its energy-saving program to $30 million. The initiative includes a $200 bill credit for eligible customers; its direct financial impact on NextEra was not specified. Article: FPL Doubles Saving Steps Funding

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $85.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $80.79 and its 200-day moving average is $87.30. The company has a market cap of $178.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.53. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $74.41 and a 52-week high of $98.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The utilities provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 40.37% and a return on equity of 12.27%. The business had revenue of $8.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 27th will be issued a $0.6232 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 27th. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 44.86%.

NextEra Energy Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc. is an energy company whose businesses include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility, and NextEra Energy Resources, a developer and operator of energy infrastructure. FPL generates, transmits and distributes electricity to customers across Florida. NextEra Energy Resources develops and operates projects in North America, including wind and solar generation, battery storage, and natural gas and nuclear facilities. The company also invests in transmission infrastructure and provides energy-related services.